A couple of weeks before the Sugar Bowl, Florida coach Will Muschamp acknowledged he'd had numerous inquiries from other schools nd sports organizations about his assistant coaches, but all had decided to remain with the Gators.

Until now.

Gators defensive coordinator Dan Quinn is leaving to become the defensive coordinator for the Seattle Seahawks, replacing Gus Bradley who today accepted the head coaching job with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Shortly after the announcement by the Seahawks' organization via Twitter, Florida coach Will Muschamp announced that linebackers/special teams coach D.J. Durkin will be promoted to defensive coordinator. He will also continue coaching the Gator linebackers.

"D.J. and I will run the defense, continuing the way that Dan and I did for the past two years," Muschamp said. "We will look to add another coach that is the best fit for our staff moving forward."

Durkin has been on the staff since 2010, and remained on Muschamp's staff after former coach Urban Meyer resigned. He becomes the Gators' fourth defensive coordinator in the past five years.

The move for Quinn was not completely unexpected. He joined the Gators' staff in 2011 after spending the 2009-10 season as the defensive line coach with the Seahawks. While he recently said he believed college coaching was more in his future than the NFL, he also talked often of his love of Seattle area and spoke highly of his time with the Seahawks.

Quinn earned $490,000 at UF this past season, and was scheduled to receive an increase to $510,000 on Feb. 1.

"I'm happy for Dan and this opportunity," Muschamp said. "I've said before that I always encourage my staff, when opportunities arise, to take the next step in their career. Dan's background is in the NFL and this is a great chance to go back to a place he's familiar with."

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